Oil prices are soaring, but Trump is downplaying the need to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 6:27 PM EST, March 7, 2026


NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices have soared in the week since the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran, but President Donald Trump on Saturday downplayed the idea of turning to America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ease the pressure.

Trump was asked by reporters on Air Force One about whether he would consider tapping the reserve. As the war continues to escalate across the Middle East, including in areas critical to the production and movement of oil and gas, that’s strained the energy sector globally. In the U.S., consumers are already facing higher gas prices, a key cost of living.

“We’ve got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount,” Trump said. “There’s a lot of oil out there. That’ll get healed very quickly.”

Trump’s Republican Party is under pressure over the issue of affordability ahead of November midterm elections. Tapping the reserve is among the few things a president can do on his own to try to make an impact on oil prices.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-oil-strategic-petroleum-reserve-f94657cbef74c0c682f5cc6472bfb3cb

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What this AP reporter neglected to mention was that before leaving office when the per bbl prices hit ~$75 or below, the the Biden administration started buying more to begin to refill (quite a bit had earlier been sold when the price was running as high as ~$90/bbl in order to affect the market price, which it did to some degree).

And then when 45 got back in, he claimed he was going to "fill it right to the top", but that never happened, and they ceased filling the reserve due to little funding to do so - even when oil was cheap, in the $50 - $60/bbl range.

Current status - https://www.energy.gov/hgeo/opr/spr-quick-facts

[drray23]

1. I am pretty sure it is because Trump sees it as HIS oil.

Trump considers everything his. We saw that play during the COVID crisis. They were hoarding the masks and other supplies for themselves and doling them out to states or even other countries that were supporting Trump.

Same with FEMA lately, where if you are a blue state, forget about getting any money.

[CountAllVotes]

2. are there long lines yet?

How many blocks long do the lines have to be before they release the oil from the reserves?

Answer: Not soon as its already been bought and sold

[Aussie105]

3. As long as there is fuel for his jet and his war machine, Trump isn't worried.

You plebs will just have to make do.

Got good walking shoes or a bicycle?

[artemisia1]

4. It is too early to do so, imho. This could be a long war, and even if it is not, disruptions take a while to recover

from and we are likely to need the reserves, not to lower prices, but to keep the economy afloat and trucks moving food and goods to market.

[Hugin]

5. Thanks for pointing out the refilling discrepancy.

The republican fossil fuel lobby has been trying to gut the strategic reserves for decades. Due to the fact it gives the federal government a measure of control over the supply/demand curve. I seem to remember that it was at its lowest level ever during Trump’s first imposition. I can see him proclaiming that it wasn’t needed any more and the invisible hand of the private markets would self-correct any problems. There’s that damned irony again.

[Mawspam2]

6. There is only 20 days of supply in the SPR.

On the plus side, we get very little (around 3%) oil from the Gulf states. We shouldn't need to tap the reserve unless Donald "Bing Bong" and his toadie, Kegs-breath, screws things up. ... Yeah, we're fucked.

[twodogsbarking]

7. Coal powered Teslas are in production.

[Hugin]

8. There's always the military's coal fired mandate.

MAGA doesn’t need any oil! Hell, ‘Murka is full of CLEAN coal that is just sitting there.

[Prairie Gates]

9. He has Jared working on a way to monetize the Strategic Oil Reserve for the Trump family

Once they figure out an adequate con, he will open the spigots.

[Vinca]

10. He can't release it because to him that's an admission things aren't going perfectly.